Truth about war casualties

[Spazito]

Americans' willingness to accept body bags long has been an important gauge of their support for military conflicts. So important, in fact, that the Pentagon (news - web sites) has a term for measuring public reaction to the flag-draped coffins returning to Dover Air Force Base and other locations: the "Dover test."

<snip>

Today, flag-draped coffins again are arriving at Dover, as the toll from the Iraq (news - web sites) war rises. So far, 341 troops have been killed, including 202 since major combat ended May 1. But the bodies are returning out of public view because the Bush administration is barring media coverage.

Its action confuses cause and effect. Images of body bags don't cause the public to question military campaigns. Rather, questions about the rightness of the missions feed doubts. A clear-eyed assessment of the nation's involvement has a better chance of garnering public support than efforts to squash legitimate news coverage.

<snip>

Shielding these tragic arrivals from view is part of a troubling response to the public's recent war worries. In the past month, administration officials have criticized the media for painting too gloomy a picture of Iraq's postwar conditions. The reality, they say, is much more positive.

more

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=679&e=3&u=/usatoday/11917465